BDLJ Associates, LLC, of New York City, the owners of the Hudson Tea Building at the head of Washington Street, presented an amended plan Wednesday night for development of the rest of their land on the city’s northern waterfront.
The meeting was only a conceptual review, which means, according to Planning Board officials, that the hearing was merely an opportunity for the developer to communicate with the board before a formal application is submitted.
During Mayor David Roberts’ administration, these reviews have become more common. They offer the public a glimpse of proposed large-scale projects before a public hearing begins. They also give officials, especially Planning Board members, the opportunity to comment and make preliminary suggestions to streamline the planning process.
The land that was discussed Wednesday night was much of the property that surrounds the Hudson Tea Building residential complex at the northern end of Washington Street. The entire development will be known as “Hoboken Cove.”
BDLJ owns the Tea Building and much of the land north of 14th Street, except those buildings that directly abut 14th Street, such as the Hudson Reporter building and City Bistro. To the west the property is bounded by Park Avenue, and the north by the Weehawken border. Most of BDLJ’s land is currently parking lots, abandoned industrial buildings, or non-accessible grassy areas.
The proposal also outlined the basics of the public/private partnership between BDLJ and the city, where the company would build a park on city-owned land commonly referred to as the Todd Shipyards, a 1.8 acre piece of property immediately north of 15th Street and west of Park Avenue.
In September of 1998, BDLJ was approved by the Planning Board to build an 868-unit, 1.18 million square-foot development on the site with 5.9 acres of open space, of which 4.1 acres would be publicly accessible.
Since 1998, the developers have completed the luxury Tea Building, which started leasing apartments in 2001, and, according to company officials, is now 95 percent occupied. Also since 1998, BDLJ has expanded its local holdings by purchasing a parcel of land between Garden and Bloomfield streets north of 14th Street. This land acquisition has prompted BDLJ to rethink its plans for the area and is considering submitting major amendments to the approval that increase the amount of public open space but also increase the number of total residential units and total square footage of the development.
The amended proposal, as presented Wednesday, includes 1,332 apartments, of which 525 are already completed in the Tea Building; 6.3 acres of open space, of which 4.5 acres will be fully accessible to the public; 1,524 parking spaces, and 67,291 square feet of retail space.
The developers propose to build 1,496,659 square feet of residential units, where each unit would average 1,123 square feet per unit.
If approved, the unit development would include, in addition to the two completed 12-story Tea buildings, two nine-story residential towers lining the northern half of Washington Street between 14th and 15th streets, two 13-story residential buildings lining the northern end of Hudson Street, an eight-story parking garage between Bloomfield and Garden streets on 15th Street, a one-story retail building on the west side of Bloomfield south of 15th Street, and a 10-story building north of 15th Street between Garden and Bloomfield streets.
Fifteenth Street would be reopened through Hudson Street, and Hudson, Washington, Bloomfield and Garden streets would be extended up to the new 15th Street.
The proposed plans have Garden Street blocked off at 15th Street with a landscaped pedestrian walkway that extends north and connects to the waterfront walkway. Most of the project’s public space would be north of 15th street between this pedestrian walkway and Park Avenue.
It is still yet to be decided how the open space will be programmed. The original plan had two large open lawns, with several playgrounds for toddlers and children, but the planners said they would be open to input from the city and would consider more active uses if that is the consensus of city officials.
Diana Fainberg, a planning consultant hired by BDLJ, said Friday morning that this project has several benefits for the city. “We would be creating a major waterfront park in an area that has been abandoned for a very long time,” she said. Fainberg added that that the project will be an “anchor” for the northern waterfront, just as the Southern Waterfront Redevelopment is on the city’s south side. She also said that by extending and reopening Washington, Bloomfield, and Garden streets past 14th Street, those blocks will be reconnected to the “residential and retail character” of the rest of the city and will give residents more access to the northern waterfront.
Several members of the Planning Board gave their comments on the proposed amendments. One concern was about the increase in the project’s size. According to the project’s planners, the project is being presented without variances, and is less than the gross allowable residential area listed in the city’s zoning guidelines.
Nevertheless, some had concerns. “It seems like to me that this is going in the wrong direction,” said Planning Board member Hank Forrest. “Overall, I think the size of this is a real concern.”
Another concern was the height of the buildings. Board Member Beth Mason commented that putting nine-story buildings on Washington Street might not be in character with the rest of Hoboken’s main street, where most of the buildings are four or five stories.
Others worried that having 13-story buildings across from each other on Hudson Street could create an undesirable “tunnel effect” for pedestrians.
Planning Board member Eileen Banyra suggested that the architects look at modulating the heights of the building to avoid the tunnel effect and to create a better transition from Washington Street into the Tea Building. The next step in this project is for the developers to submit a formal amendment for approval. As of Thursday, a date for the public hearing has not yet been set.